The Los Angeles Clippers, led by Kawhi Leonard, have started to figure things out after a slow start to the season. Now, they have agreed to a three-year, $152.4 million contract extension with the two-time Finals MVP. Leonard is having a solid year and has not missed much time due to the NBA cracking down on load management this offseason. With the Clippers trading for James Harden at the beginning of the year, they have one of the best rosters on paper. As a result, the organization wanted to solidify their core for years to come and knew inking Kawhi Leonard to a new deal would be the first step. He and Paul George are the star duo that leads the team, but the the other players have also started buying into their roles.
Kawhi Leonard Agrees to Three-Year, $152.4 Million Extension With Los Angeles Clippers
Kawhi Leonard’s Impact
The five-time All-Star has played 33 games this season. Leonard is currently averaging 24.0 points, 6.0 total rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. On top of this, he is also tallying 1.7 steals per game which matches his career average in this category to go along with a defensive rating of 112 and a defensive box plus/minus of 1.1. Leonard is also deadly from three-point range this year as he is striking it from beyond the arc at a rate of 43.2 percent, a career-best. For context, he is shooting better from three-point range than Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, and Trae Young.
The five-time All-Star is also averaging a player efficiency rating of 23.1 and a true shooting percentage of 62.6 percent. He is also currently tallying an offensive rating of 126 (tied for his career-best in this category), and an offensive win-share total of 3.1. With the new load management rules implemented, the Clippers are now getting to see the full potential of their star duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Not to mention, James Harden and Russell Westbrook seem to have settled in and it has catapulted the team back up to the upper echelon of the Western Conference.
The Current Construction of the Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are one of the hottest squad in the NBA. After a slow start to the year, the team is now the fourth seed in the Western Conference with a win-loss record of 24-13. The Clippers are only a couple games back of the defending champion, Denver Nuggets, who possess a win-loss record of 26-13 for the third seed. Even with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George getting a little older, they are still one of the top tandems in the entire league.
The role players have also stepped up in a big way and James Harden is looking more like the James Harden of old. Los Angeles currently ranks fifth in team field goal percentage at 49.2 percent and sixth in team steals per game at 8.2 per game. On top of this, they also rank second in team three-point field goal percentage at 39.1 percent. As of right now, Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers are checking all the right boxes and it makes sense why the organization was ready to give the two-time champion a new deal.
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